Last week, we were very excited to welcome the unparalleled Kenneth Brown to our shop!

Here he is with me and Jennifer Uddo who is part of our Interior Design department.

I think Kenneth is best known for his wonderful show on HGTV, and for his fabulous style which is a great marriage of his South Louisiana roots with and the simplicity and modern outlook of the Southern Caliornia chic.

I love his use of streamlined, light-filled interiors which utilize great colors and direct compositions.

This red pagoda chandelier is a favorite of mine, and very inspirational!

We were all very excited to hear that Kenneth will be opening a design office and retail studio in Baton Rouge, and we are looking forward to working with him!

We recently had a request for the Cammie, a chandelier I had taken out of production. I was actually glad to bring it back because I think it's really beautiful. I like it because it has a quiet glitziness and a delicate yet important presence.

It was inspired by a Swedish design and the original one had a much darker finish. We decided to update it in a lighter gold and our master beader, Brooke, reworked the application of the square crystals which are set into the three horizontal bands.

Since we are having a truly hot, muggy summer, this chandelier made us feel light and cool!

When my friend Linda Longo, editor of EnLIGHTENment Magazine
told me she was coming to New Orleans for a convention, I was thrilled!
I'd been following Linda for quite awhile and was always very impressed
with her work reporting on the latest developments in the lighting
industry.

I was very excited when Linda arrived at my workshop! After reading her
many articles on the cutting edge technology and new advancements in
lighting design, I sometimes feel like a throw-back to simpler times
when everything was made by hand, the way our lighting still is. So I
was not sure what Linda might think about what we do.

Linda was so gracious and so interested in how we work. She loved that
we still draw all our production drawings by hand. And that all of our
lighting is wired and hand finished in our studio by the greatest group
of artists and technical people ever. That we take care and time to make
each piece special.

And uniquely crafted for the person who orders it. With peace, love, care and skill.

It was fun to walk down the street with Linda from our workshop to our
showroom, which is one block down, and to show her how we create
decorative vignettes to complement our lighting. We have interior
designers who assist our clients with the home furnishings we carry and we offer
complete interior design services as well. We also make a special point
to show the work of many gifted New Orleans artists, like Jamie Meeks, Lesley Wells,
Michelle Tullis and Craig McMillan.

I think Linda was also intrigued by the "Beer delier's" we have in our
shop, which are designed by the famous pillow designer, Becky Vizard as
an outreach program for the young people of her hometown of St. Joseph,
LA., who she pays by the bottle cap to string the garlands which make
up the chandelier. They are fun, festive and very popular as well as
being for a good cause!

It was great to finally meet Linda in person and to spend a wonderful morning talking about lighting with her.

Thank you so much, Linda for visiting and for writing such a fabulous article about us!

My friend, the fabulous blogger extraordinaire, Joni Webb, who writes Cote de Texas and I have gotten together and cooked up the most fabulous giveaway!

You should rush over to her blog and read all about it. We have decided to let the winner of the giveaway choose the chandelier they want to win, and it's a choice between the Ingrid Chandelier, pictured below

And the Elizabeth Chandelier.

Both of these beauties were designed by me and they are each very popular fixtures. All of our pieces are created right here in New Orleans. I am unbelievably lucky to be able to work with such a talented group of artists who make everything we create as gorgeous as it can possibly be.

Here is the amazing Jennifer working on an Ingrid Chandelier. Her work brings the magic to each piece she touches.

Here is Christine putting the crystals on an Elizabeth. She is dedicated to making lighting that is a beautiful as she is.

Although we are very serious about our work, we like to have fun and to help people light up their lives.

So we decided to do a giveaway!

Most of our work is custom and each piece is made to order for each client.

We thought it would be fun to do a giveaway where the winner could choose between two different fixtures, sort of a custom giveaway!

So what will it be? The Ingrid?

She's more modern in feel with a twist of antiquing thrown in for good measure.

She's comfortable in a variety of settings.

And she can even be made into a lantern.

Elizabeth is more traditional. And dressed up.

She is named for the person who inspired her. She was created to bring snazziness to an entry with low ceilings that still wanted to look dressed up.

She is petite and cute just like the Elizabeth who inspired her into being.

I was so excited when Joni said she would be the mistress of ceremonies for this fun giveaway! Thank you Joni for your wonderful post and for helping me with this fun and fabulous giveaway.

Hurry on over to Cote de Texas and read all about it. Leave a comment and you might become the winner of one of these two wonderful chandeliers!

I am the owner of Julie Neill Designs in New Orleans where we create beautiful custom lighting. This blog is my love letter to the unique people, places and happenings which make New Orleans the amazing place it is.